Opana’s manufacturer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, had submitted a petition to the agency asking it to ban generic forms of the painkiller, which Endo has reformulated as “Opana ER” to make it harder to abuse. That petition was denied by the FDA, which said Endo’s reformulation was not significantly safer than the original version:

While there is an increased ability of the reformulated version of Opana ER to resist crushing relative to the original formulation, study data show that the reformulated version’s extended-release features can be compromised when subjected to other forms of manipulation, such as cutting, grinding, or chewing, followed by swallowing. Reformulated Opana ER can be readily prepared for injection, despite Endo’s claim that these tablets have “resistance to aqueous extraction (i.e., poor syringeability).” It also appears that reformulated Opana ER can be prepared for snorting using commonly available tools and methods.